Sunday, April 02, 2006

So courtesy of TiVo, I just finished watching the UCLA/LSU game. I still remember the last time the Bruins went this far in the NCAA tournament in the days of the O'Bannon brothers, Tyus Edney, and Toby Bailey. I was living in Westwood at the time and I still remember the excitement on Landfair, Gayley, Kelton and Veteran as everyone followed March Madness. I don't think I'll ever forget the feeling of the entire street shaking in the excitement of that 1995 championship game. (Though I thought about going down there, I wasn't down in the Village during those riots after the game...)
I can't believe how much time has passed since those days but watching the excitement of today's game, I was instantly transported back to that exciting NCAA tournament and how proud I was then (and still am) to be a Bruin.
This Bruin team really earned my respect today with how hard they played. And I still can't get over how talented Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (umbah-a-moo-teh) is. How is it possible that this guy is a freshman who has only been playing 5 years of organized basketball? Amazing.
I'll be cheering him and the rest of the UCLA team on Monday night.
*does the 8 clap*

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The UCLA defense had blocked his final shot and he had committed his final foul. Wearily, Glen Davis plopped down on the bench and shook his head.
Oh, Baby, can the Bruins play defense.
Throw some offense in there on the same night and not even LSU and its 6-foot-9, 310-pound star, the guy known as "Big Baby," had a chance. The Bruins shut Davis down Saturday en route to a 59-45 victory over the Tigers that put them one win away from their 12th national title.
"They came out and punched us and we didn't recover from it," Davis said.
The last step in the quest to hang another banner at Pauley Pavilion comes Monday in the final against Florida, a 73-58 winner over George Mason in the first semifinal. [full story]